Nankana Sahibਨਨਕਾਣਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ

History

In 1469, in a village then called Rai Bhoi di Talwandi, a child was born to Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta who would become Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism. The village head's descendant, Rai Bular Bhatti, renamed the place Nankana Sahib in the Guru's honour, and the town has carried his name ever since. Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent his childhood here, and the stories of his early years, his questioning of empty ritual and his compassion for the lowly, belong to these streets.

At the site of his birthplace stands Gurdwara Janam Asthan, the Birthplace Shrine, the most sacred of the nine historic gurdwaras in the town. The first shrine here is believed to have been raised in the sixteenth century by Baba Dharam Chand, the Guru's own grandson, and the present building was constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1819-20. It is officially listed as a protected heritage monument of Punjab, Pakistan.

The other shrines of the town each mark an episode of the Guru's early life: Gurdwara Patti Sahib, where the young Nanak is said to have received his divine calling; Gurdwara Bal Leela, recalling his childhood; Gurdwara Mal Ji Sahib and Gurdwara Kiara Sahib, tied to his teachings and miracles. Together they make Nankana Sahib a complete pilgrimage, a town where the whole of the Guru's youth can be walked in a single day.

The Nankana massacre

On 20 February 1921, Nankana Sahib became the scene of one of the darkest episodes in Sikh history. The gurdwara was then controlled by Mahant Narain Das, an Udasi priest accused of misusing the shrine, and when a band of unarmed Akali reformers entered to reclaim it for the community, his armed men opened fire. More than 260 Sikhs were killed in the massacre.

The outrage that followed shook Punjab and became the turning point of the Gurdwara Reform Movement, leading to the creation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to manage Sikh shrines. The martyrs of Nankana are remembered every year, and their sacrifice is woven into the town's identity.

Today

Nankana Sahib, now the headquarters of its own district in Pakistani Punjab, lies about ninety kilometres west of Lahore. Its gurdwaras draw Sikh pilgrims from around the world, above all for Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birth anniversary, when the town fills with yatris. For Sikhs everywhere, this is where the story begins: the birthplace of the first Guru, and the cradle of the faith.